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World Jewish News
War in Gaza and the CIS: Minsk Most Balanced, Baku Most Ingenious
03.01.2009
In reaction to the Middle Eastern conflict escalation, Belarus has taken the most balanced position. Azerbaijan has publicly shared the position of Arab countries. Ukraine criticizes Israel for disproportionate use of force. The Kazakhs, Uzbeks and Moldovans have so far been the most cautious.
Although all CIS countries have diplomatic relations with Israel, seven of them at the ambassadorial level, and many of their former citizens currently reside there, their position in connection with the operation in Gaza seems to be in favor of Arabs rather than of Israelis. Russia has naturally set the tone by publicly calling its position a balanced one, but expressing apparent sympathy for the Palestinians.
Besides Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Azerbaijan and Armenia have officially responded to the recent events in the conflict zone. It is noteworthy that the most balanced response came from Belarus, the President of which expressed his readiness to serve as a mediator between Israel and Iran in October 2008. "The Republic of Belarus condemns the use of force, which causes the death of innocent civilians of Palestine and Israel," says the official statement of the country's MFA. In the similar communique of Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Armenia the casualties among the Israeli population are not mentioned. But Ukrainian Foreign Office has expressed "doubts on the proportionality of Israel's military forces engaged." Armenian diplomats "with deep concern" follow "the developments in the Gaza Strip, during which hundreds of people have already been killed and wounded." Azerbaijan condemns the military actions in Gaza," said the Head of the socio-political department of the presidential administration Ali Hasanov.
Azerbaijan, called "our strategic partner" by Israeli ambassador in Baku Arthur Lenk, and tacitly considered by Jerusalem a potential ally in the confrontation with Iran, has expressed the most one-sided position. And this is not the first time that officials in Baku have taken the side of the Arabs in confrontation with the Jewish state. For example, last year, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mamedyarov called the archaeological excavations carried out by Israelis in the vicinity of the Temple Mount, "aggression against Muslim holy sites." He then called on the UN to "take immediate measures to ensure adequate protection of Jerusalem historical values."
Despite this the Knesset deputy Yosef Shagall (Israel Beiteinu), one of the key figures in Israel's inter-state relations with Azerbaijan, believes that authorities of the Republic are "very pragmatic" in their approach to the Middle Eastern conflict. He noted that "President Aliyev is friendly towards Israel, so no solid informational work is needed there." Shagall said he was going to visit Baku in mid-January, and meet with senior officials, namely from the Foreign Service.
In return, Israeli diplomats who who deal with FSU countries consider the above mentioned "attacks" from Baku to be "for effect" and to serve "as tribute to Muslim solidarity," rather than reflect the real position of Western-oriented President Aliyev. "In its public reactions to the situation in the zone of the Arab-Israeli conflict, Azerbaijan has to take into account a number of regional and domestic political factors. First and foremost, this is a very uneasy relationship with neighboring Iran, which potentially has some leverage on the internal situation in the republic, in particular through the Islamic opposition, - said a representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel. – In the same time, Baku strives to maintain even partnering relations with the Arab monarchies of the Gulf, as well as to integrate into the international Islamic structures, especially those of economic direction. However, in practice, although without much publicity, this republic is indeed a strategic partner of Israel, both in the fields of security and trade. It occupies the first position among the Muslim countries in terms of an economic partnership with Israel."
The rest of the CIS countries have so far preferred not to respond formally to the next round of Middle Eastern conflict. The "abstainers" category includes all five Central Asian republics, Georgia, and Moldova.
Tbilisi, apparently, is still absorbed in the results of the August conflict in South Ossetia. Moreover, the new Georgian Ambassador to Israel was appointed only last week, and has not yet assumed the office.
Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan have never shown much interest in the events in the distant Middle East region. Tajikistan, which often follows the friendly Iran, and which strongly condemned Israel after the liquidation of the Hamas founder Ahmed Yassin (2004), and also during the Second Lebanese War (2006), has been silent so far. Tajikistan authorities are concerned with how to survive the harsh winter, and do not care about the infightings of Jews and Arabs.
Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and to some extent, Moldova stand alone. Clearly unwilling to spoil relations with either Israel or Iran (one of the main economic partners of Astana and Tashkent), nor with the Arab countries, they "did not notice" the operation in Gaza on the New Year's Eve. This is a traditional approach of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Moldova, which usually keep silence even on the most important aspects of the Middle Eastern conflict. When speaking of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan in this regard, a MK from the Shas party Amnon Cohen, who comes from Central Asia, and is one of the most active participants in the inter-state relations with them, said: "Those are two very important for us Central Asian republics, Muslim countries which maintain very good relations with us. It is important to work with them, to provide information on what is happening in our Southern districts, while our enemies are up-and-doing." Cohen added that he is preparing a package of materials in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to be submitted to "his long-time friends - the chairmen of the Kazakh and Uzbek parliaments."
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